Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Over 100 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have issued a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis asking for proof that Donald Trump consulted the Pentagon before announcing his proposed ban on transgender service members in the U.S. military.

On July 26 of this year, Trump surprised the nation with an out-of-the-blue tweet which sought to ban trans service members.

At the time, he said he'd consulted with “my Generals and military experts.”

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow......

Since then, Trump has signed a memo halting any new enlistments by transgender people and eliminating funding for transition-related healthcare costs.

The memo also instructed Mattis to make a decision on transgender soldiers who are already in the military within the next six months.

Several military leaders spoke out against the ban.

To date, no one has identified themselves as having advised Trump in favor of the ban.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Pentagon’s top military official, recently told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee he advised the president to allow all qualified troops to serve.